Law Student Volunteer, Academic Year

The United States Attorney for the District of Maryland serves as the federal government's lawyer in Maryland. The Northern Division is located in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Southern Division is located in Greenbelt, Maryland. The U.S. Attorney's Office is charged with the primary responsibility for prosecuting federal crimes, from acts of terrorism to public corruption, white-collar crime, organized crime and gang activities, internet-related crimes, and many other criminal acts. Through its Civil Division, the Office defends agencies of the United States, enforces regulatory agencies' authority, and recovers funds from violators of U.S. criminal, regulatory, and civil laws.

Job Description:

BALTIMORE:

The Assistant U.S. Attorney who supervises the law clerk program distributes assignments based on the interests of the clerks and the needs of the office in an effort to expose each clerk to a variety of substantive matters. Clerks who work in the Baltimore office will be exposed to both criminal and civil matters. The office seeks to give all students extensive opportunities to witness depositions, motion hearings, trials, and, on occasion, appellate arguments. In addition, the Office organizes a series of programs specifically for the law clerks.

GREENBELT:

The Assistant U.S. Attorney who supervises the law clerk program distributes assignments based on the interests of the clerks and the needs of the office in an effort to expose each clerk to a variety of substantive matters. Clerks who work in the Greenbelt office will be exposed to only criminal matters. The office seeks to give all students extensive opportunities to witness depositions, motion hearings, trials, and, on occasion, appellate arguments. In addition, the Office organizes a series of programs specifically for the law clerks.

Qualifications:

Applicants must be U.S. citizens and must have completed the first year of law school by the time employment commences with this Office. Please note that each student internship is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a security clearance. No student will be allowed to work in any capacity before his or her security clearance is successfully completed.

Salary:

Law clerks serve on a volunteer basis a couple of days each week. At certain schools, students may participate in the clerkship in connection with a course and earn credits towards graduation.

Application Process:

Spring Program (2015): This Office will accept resumes for the Spring Program from September 2 to October 11. Students who are selected must submit a completed security application package by November 1. The program will normally begin in mid-January.

If you would like to participate in our Volunteer Law Clerk Program, please submit, by the applicable deadline, the following: (1) a cover letter indicating whether you are interested in one or both of the offices (Baltimore, Greenbelt, or both); (2) a resume with a current phone number and email address; (3) your most recent unofficial law school transcript, and (4) a writing sample. Your application package may be sent via e-mail or mailed to: usamd.lawclerkjobs@usdoj.gov.

Number of Positions:

8--10 law clerks in Baltimore, 2-5 law clerks in Greenbelt

Updated August 22, 2014

* * *

Department Policies

Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any other non-merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice.

Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume@benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with disabilities may also contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC). See list of DPOCs.

Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. Citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. Citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).

* * *

This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.